Alexis Ferrer has managed to surprise and excite half of the world with a collection, La Favorite, through an innovative technique of photographic printing on hair. The project has gained applause and recognition in the sector both nationally and internationally.
Alexis Ferrer created, for the first time in the history of hairdressing, a photographic print on hair in 2012. At that time Wella Professionals —he’s Global Creative Artist of the brand— asked him if he could do a show at the International Trend Vision Awards 2012. The idea was to interpret one of the collections, Echo, that the firm would launch in the market. That collection offered a trip into the innermost and darkest part of people, showing anguish, fear or loneliness. Inspiration came from painters like Escher, designers like Alexander McQueen, and horror movies like The Shining and Hitchcock’s Psycho.
For this reason, Ferrer believed that it was best not to show the face of the models, a face that is usually pretty, pleasant and full of nuances, and to use the hair as a reflection of the interior of the person. Pictures of the female protagonists of the mentioned films were taken and imprinted on hair. The aim of the show was to innovate with a technique never used in hairdressing, and photographic printing on hair seemed the ideal way to represent a story in a graphic and impressive way.
To achieve optimum quality printing on hair, several months of testing and trials were required. To allow hair to adapt to the movement of the model as she walked, so that viewers could always contemplate the photograph, the hair extensions were fixed with a net. The models paraded with their faces camouflaged by hair, in which the photographic printing technique was applied, exaggerating their way of walking, emulating the panic and suspense of horror films.
Five years later, on the runway at 080 Barcelona Fashion Week 2017, Alexis Ferrer collaborated with the designer Txell Miras creating extensions with black and white photographic prints. It was a collection inspired by fishermen and the giant containers that we find in ports and how these are reused as homes. For this reason, the hairdresser decided to print fishermen’s faces on the extensions.
At the beginning of 2020, Alexis Ferrer, perfected the technique, working on color intensity and improving definition. He went from making the prints with photographic ink to generating them digitally. With this change, the photos are printed on a flat extension to ensure definition and color, and the extension is subsequently attached to the wig.La Favorite collection was finished at the beginning of July and after taking the photo session, it was sent to Figaro Club in August. On September 1 the first post with images of the project was published on Instagram and on October 25 he participated in the final round of the Figaro Awards and won two awards, Spanish Hairdresser of the Year and Best Video Production. Weeks later, on November 30, the collection was a finalist in the British Hairdressing Awards, the UK’s top hairdressing awards. The latest achievement has been inspiring Chris Appleton, Hollywood’s top celebrity hairstylist, who has created a version for Jennifer Lopez, undoubtedly inspired by Alexis Ferrer’s La Favorite.
Hair: Alexis Ferrer
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